Not prosecuting crime lets criminals keep at it
Bronx: Re “Crimefighters fight” (April 16): I read with alarm this story about NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch accusing Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark of failing to prosecute car thefts. It’s not so much what Tisch said, but what Clark’s office said in its one tiny quote at the end: “There is a difference between what the police charge at arrest and what we can prove in court.”
Sounds like an excuse to me. The truth is, district attorneys can make a case as hard as they want to. If you lose, you lose, but you did the right thing. Or is Clark afraid of hurting her batting average — her win-lose ratio? Sometimes you gotta do the right thing by the police and the victimized public, folks.
But that’s not my only worry about this story, as someone born and raised in the Bronx whose family has owned a small business here for more than 100 years. I’m worried, frankly, that if car thefts aren’t being prosecuted, what else is being ignored? What other felonies aren’t being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law in service of case disposition statistics? Stealing a $100,000 car — and yes, we have $100,000 cars in the Bronx, plenty of them — is grand larceny. So what other grand larcenies are falling through the cracks? And what are we saying about recidivist criminals? If we don’t prosecute, it’s just another license for them to return to the scene of the crime(s) again and again.
You let one thing slip and all kinds of other bad things follow. Peter Madonia
Move along
Flushing: I ride the subways every day. Maybe they would be safer if cops actually patrolled them instead of standing in place B.S.-ing or playing with their phones! Eureka! Joseph Gross
Capital punishment
Bayside: Re “Two days, two deaths” (April 25): Time to bring the death penalty back to NYC (aka the O.K. Corral). In this day and age, when there are cameras everywhere and there is no doubt who the murderer is, then off with their heads! I’m sick and tired of politicians doing absolutely nothing about this scourge while innocent people are constantly slaughtered while going about their business. Thoughts and prayers are useless, and drastic times call for drastic measures. Let’s go, NYC. Bring back the death penalty for first-degree murder and cop killers! Karen Sabatini
Feel-good stories
Bloomfield, N.J.: I’ve loved the nostalgic letters you have been running recently. Shared memories have a way of unifying people. Here’s one more: I had a great conversation with an older couple waiting for an appointment recently. Imagine this: no phones, tablets or ear buds in sight. Frank Sinatra was in the background, but no one was going to kick him out. In a short span, we talked hometowns, sports and great restaurants. Soon, another stranger joined us and traded stories with the lady like they were old friends. A very low-tech yet high-reward day. Christine Sparta
Exist to protect
Manhattan: City Council Member Gale Brewer and attorney Michael S. Hiller are correct that the 60th anniversary of the Landmarks Law is a moment for celebration and concern (“After 60 years, Landmarks agency must refocus,” op-ed, April 25). For decades, the law has delivered, protecting beloved historic districts and cherished landmarks, fostering reinvestment, revitalizing neighborhoods, generating tourism, creating jobs and protecting affordable housing. It took more than 50 years of struggle and painful losses for the city to get the law. That we are now losing landmarks protected by it suggests that all is not right at the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Whether it is misguided efforts at efficiency, inter-agency issues or intense political pressure from the Real Estate Board of New York, the commission is failing the law, the city and its residents. May this anniversary not mark the further decline of the commission but instead lead to a recommitment to its mission. Anthony C. Wood
Man of God
Brooklyn: The pope passes away, a man who could be considered a modern-day saint. A humble man who bowed his head, humble as dust. Though his light was hidden, it shone brightly. A pope who lived in simple conditions, dressed plainly, conversed with the poor and those in jail. His last act, in grave condition and against doctors’ orders, was to speak to the public in Rome on Easter Sunday. He used his last energy of life to bless the public. I’m sure the man above welcomed him with open arms to be a general of the Catholic faith. Even in death, his spirit is strong. Joseph Comperchio
Slacker society
White Plains, N.Y.: Voicer Jack Cregan says corporate greed is why U.S. companies have moved operations out of America, i.e. cheap labor is to be found offshore. Then he omits the final step: that unions and their lazy, overpaid members are the cause of costly labor here. In addition, U.S. workers are not efficient, if even competent. Cregan and many others like him probably don’t complain too loud because they are the overpaid unionized labor. And then comes the slave-labor argument. Castigating another nation’s politics and associated business model, as in communism under the People’s Republic of China, is moving the goalposts. America is free to choose its politics and any business model it desires. The bottom line is that American citizens and capitalism are the basic greedy components. Chris Lee
Down and out
Brentwood, L.I.: I saw Susan Rice on TV Friday evening. She doesn’t look very happy that she is not still running things at the White House. W.J. Van Sickle
Being robbed
Philadelphia: To Voicer Roberta Chaleff: I do not need protection from all those alleged illegal criminals you were ruminating about in your letter. What I do need is protection for my 401(k) and IRA accounts from the inanely incompetent handling of our economy by the alleged stable business genius, President Trump. Duane Doberman
Sellers and buyers
Brooklyn: Donald Trump spoke glowingly about tariffs on the campaign trail. No one seemed to believe he would implement such a bad idea, but here we are. Trump has talked up tariffs since the 1980s. How does he figure that having a trade imbalance with a country is a total loss? That’s like saying my trade imbalance with Walgreens or Macy’s is a total loss! If Trump really went to the Wharton School, he sure didn’t learn much! Harvey Kaplan
Strategic stupidity
Bronx: S.E. Cupp described the chaos and destruction of our national defense with an unfit, alcoholic weekend TV show anchor as secretary of defense (“Hegseth ‘reform’ has the Pentagon in shambles,” column, April 23). Let’s make one thing clear: This is not just one unfit, unqualified agency head. They are all equally unfit and unqualified (especially RFK Jr). This is no accident. Trump is a Russian operative and his mission is the destruction of our country from within, and so far, he is getting away with it. Sandi Lusk
Weaponized workforce
Bronx: It suddenly occurred to me: If Elon Musk is leaving D.C., is he taking his DOGE minions with him? Or does he plan to leave the teenage tech people in place in our agencies? And by the way, who has been paying them? I certainly hope the taxpayers of the U.S.A. are not on the hook for their salaries! Does anybody know? Claudette Mobley
Not a member
Chester, N.J.: On the news item about Larry David publishing an op-ed in The New York Times parodying Bill Maher’s dinner with Trump, The News referred to Maher as Jewish. Maher is very vocal on religion, and while his mother was Jewish, he identified as Irish and claims he is an agnostic who was raised Catholic. His movie “Religulous” was clearly anti-religion. Agree to disagree with his positions, but report them accurately. By the way, I’m on team Larry David on the subject of the dinner, so I’m not defending Maher. David J. Melvin
